In 1271, Polo set out with his father and uncle, Niccolo and Maffeo Polo, for Asia, where they would remain until 1295. A sophisticated culture outside the reaches of the Vatican seemed unfathomable, and yet that's exactly what the Polo brothers described to confounded Venetians when they arrived home. Khan's Empire, the largest the world had ever seen, was largely a mystery to those living within the borders of the Holy Roman Empire. During their stay with the leader, Khan had expressed his interest in Christianity and asked the Polo brothers to visit again with 100 priests and a collection of holy water.

In 1269, the two men returned to Venice and immediately started making plans for their return to Khan's court. Niccolo and Maffeo’s journeys brought them into present-day China, where they joined a diplomatic mission to the court of Kublai Khan, the Mongol leader whose grandfather, Genghis Khan, had conquered Northeast Asia.

Polo's mother died when he was young, and his father and uncle, successful jewel merchants Niccolo and Maffeo Polo, were in Asia for much of Polo's youth. Although he was born to a wealthy Venetian merchant family, much of Polo’s childhood was spent parentless, and he was raised by an extended family. Around 1292, he left China, acting as escort along the way to a Mongol princess who was being sent to Persia. Polo traveled extensively with his family, journeying from Europe to Asia from 1271 to 1295 and remaining in China for 17 of those years. Marco Polo was a Venetian explorer known for the book The Travels of Marco Polo, which describes his voyage to and experiences in Asia.

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